Chris Rock had a similar policy when I saw him last year at the Barclays Center.
I think part of this is about protecting their livelihood. Comics work forever on new material, and unlike a covert recording of a play or a musical, where you'd need really good sound and video quality to approximate the experience, it's really all about the words in standup. If somebody puts the whole act on YouTube, why would people in the 50+ cities on the tour to follow spend big money on tickets?
Comedy also really depends on working the room, and it's impossible to do that when people are distracted by their phones.
I think this is a great policy. |
